Prop Tutorial : Black Moon Clan's Earrings (Sailormoon R)

Yup..i think i'll start to compile my tutorials on prop making here.....It's a way for me to remember how to make it in the future, should my current one gets busted...LOL..

Disclaimer : I'm making these props based on what i work with best..it's not EXACTLY the BEST way to make it (IMHO) but it works.....i'm sure there are better tutorials out there on prop making and what nots, but seeing that it's kinda limited to get materials around my area (without having to drive out for at least 30 mins), i work my way around what i can find nearby...^^

ANYWAY~~~ here goes....

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Tutorial #1
- How to make Black Moon Clan's Earrings (from Sailormoon R) -

OOOOOOO.....Prince Diamond..!! <3<3<3

You'll need
- Diamonds (refer to picture)
- Earring accesories (the thing to be pierced through your ears)
- Print out patterns (refer to picture)
- UHU glue
- Gold Dust
- Fishing strings
- Black Spray Paint
- JPOP n KPOP SONGS! (LOL!)

First, you'll need to to have sketched out drawings of the top pattern of the earrings..
(i can't draw freehand on a symmetrical pattern, so i resorted to Adobe illustrator for the pattern..LOL)
Then i printed a whole lot of it out on Hard Card (this is to prevent the paper from tearing when i'm cutting them)

LOL...printed these out in my office.....XD

After that, cut out AT LEAST 3 of these and glue them together (here's where the UHU glue will play it's part ^^)
Have 2 sets of these for each side of the earring..(meaning in total you'll need 4 of these pattern thingy...)
Be generous with the UHU...it's ok if it overflows because that way, it'll be sticky enough for the gold dust to be stuck on...
After you've glued those cut out patterns together, it'll look thicker and somewhat not-so-fragile...LOL..

Apply another coat of UHU onto the pattern and then SPRINKLE AWAY..!! (be the toothfairy..!! XD)

it'll look something like this....

Be prepared for pixie dust all over the fingers....LOL

OKAY..that's the pattern part...
Now for the diamonds........It was a real pain in the neck to find the diamond shape that i want, i almost ripped apart my Sheryl earrings until one day, my colleague told me she found the shape that i wanted...only thing was, it's was transparent..not black..
WOOOT..i went..NVM..!! whatever color is ok, i'm gonna spray it black anyways..!!! LOL..
So here it is..the before and after of the diamonds...

The left image is the measurements i had for the pattern....
sort of measured it with the diamonds before i actually print them out....(worried they'd be too big..haha)

Once the paint dries up, attach those earring hook thingy onto the diamond (the little silver looking thing you see on top of the diamond)...I got mine from Art Friends for RM5.....and there were 8 pairs in that small pack...XD

After that, i took apart one of my older earrings and fixed this diamond onto it.....Glue the pattern you have sprinkled gold dust on both sides to create the 3D illustion.....
It'll look something like this...XD

One side done....another one more to go..!!

Do the same for both sides, and WALA...you got your Black Moon Clan earrings....XD

Yeah well, not exactly the PRETTIEST THING IN THE WORLD......but it works..!! XD

Will be using this for my upcoming photoshoot.....I know it isn't the PRETTIEST thing in the world, but it's as close as i can get...
I'll still go hunt and see if i could find the pattern (the gold part) for the earrings.....but for the time being....this works..!! XD

Listening to : Meine Liebe Weider - Kioku no Shandelia
Mood : ~_~.....lazy...

Prop Tutorial : BK201 Dagger (Darker Than Black)

okayy....once again, before i start, it's not entirely
the BEST prop out there. I have limited skills in making props for cosplaying, but at least i do it myself instead of buying it...

SO, on to the WIP...XD

First, i started by gathering materials like :-
- Mounting Boards
- Masking Tape
- Double Sided tape
- MORE Mounting boards...LOL

I got the blueprint of the dagger online, so much thanks to whoever who drew that out..really, thank you so very much..!!!
Then, i printed them out on A3 (actual scale) so that i don't screw them up on the measurements..(numbers are never my forte...^^)

So here it is...the actual size of the dagger...

It's kinda detailed, so really....my thanks to the person who uploaded this blueprint. You have my eternal gratitude..!!!

Then, i proceeded to work on the hilt first....so, i cut out the hilt part and traced it onto the board (seriously, i have no idea what this board is called..=_= it's those with spaces in between)

It's kinda straightforward....This is the middle and broadest part of the hilt, so i only needed to cut out 1 piece for this.


I made a mistake using the wrong board, so i replaced this with mounting board instead because the white one is much too thick...

ANYWAY~~
i proceeded to cut out the thinner part of the hilt which. I cut out 4 pieces of the exact same thing because i needed to glue this on on both sides of the hilt.


(ok, it was around this time, i noticed there were blood around my arms....and i didn't know that my thumb was actually bleeding from a cut...LOL!)

SO, next i glued everything together in the correct order and i noticed there was this metal thingy at the bottom of the hilt. So i decided to use wires instead of cutting out mounting boards for it......i could also secure the hilt with the wires to make it more sturdy (instead of it being...er....flimsy and...limp? LOL!! i know~ i know...bad word to use..LOL!!)



To make the thing look...er...slanted at the sides i used masking tape. Originally i wanted to use polysterene foam to make the hilt, but i'm no good in controlling the blade. LOL...
So yeah, that's that for the hilt....
I had to wait a day later to spray it because it was already 1am in the morning and it was raining ...=_=

I couldn't do anything much to the hilt now (no thanks to the rain =_=) so i continued on by cutting out the blades. I cut out 2 huge blade, and 3 smaller ones.
and then i placed 2 strands of hard wires in the blade so that the blade would be straight instead of being...er..limp? LOL!!!



LOL..it was around 2am after that, so i decided to stop......And after sitting on the floor for the whole day doing this, my back was SORE and aching!!!!
So i continued it the next day...which was a BRIGHT AND SUNNY DAY!!!
perfect for Spray painting!!!!



This is how it looks like after i spray painted the hilt. Not much yet because i have yet to mount the blade....XD
It practically looks something like this once mounted. But then this is just temporary...the blade could just slip off the hilt...because i didn't apply any adhesive on it yet...XD

So yeah, proceeded with the masking taping again......for the sharp blade effect...
Then i spray painted the blade, and TADAH...looks like this..!!!


Then i sprayed 2 strips of the thinner area of the blade, and taped it onto the blade. I get something like this...XD (man, i'm starting to sound like Art attack...=_=)



Yeah, i know it's a kinda crumpled on the sides, the couldn't be helped....i was working with a plastered finger..LOL!!

So basically, before mounting these 2 together, it'll look like this..

LOL...like a broken blade...XD...
After this, i was running around the house asking if anyone has UHU glue...i went WTF when everyone said no...i was like WTF?!?!?! no UHU GLUE AT ALL IN THIS WHOLE HOUSE?!?!?!?!?

then i went on a digging rampage...i dug for whatever liquid adhesive stuffs i could find in the house...originally i wanted to use PVC glue, BUT WHAT IF I SWING SWING THE BLADE AND THEN THE HILT AND THE BLADE GETS SEPARATED?!?!!? it's BLASPHEMY!!!!

TADAH...i then found my glue gun..!!! WHOAAAa.....good thing it was still working...and i still had glue tubes.....So i heated up the glue gun and fire away..!!!!!
And the result....XD




It's DONE!!!!!!
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!!!!!
Okay, i admit it's not the BEST looking dagger out there, but still....ok ok la? XD

So now, the only thing missing from my project is the costume.....props i can make, but costumes....better leave it to the pros...LOL!!!
Most probably i'll make the mask again (if time allows) because compared to the dagger, the mask is a complete PHAILURE....=_=

Listening to : Darker Than Black - Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A Name~
Mood : WEEEEEEEEE..!!!!!! XD